A brief introduction of Bird  Island  National  Park

An immense ocean of birds comes into view as soon as you set foot beside the Qinghai Lake,meaning Green-Sea Lake,which is China’s largest island-studded slight-salt water lake.

Covering an area of 56,000 hectares with a vast expanse of water,the Bird Island National Park lies on the remote and unpeopled Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,Qinghai Province,northwestern China. One of the world’s important wetlands under the protection of the international wetland protection treaty,this park is one of the outstanding bird life refuges in the world.

Main scenic spots

A Kingdom Of Birds:

Environed by the mountains,the Qinghai Lake encompasses 5 islets,one of which,called Bird Island,stands in the northwest of the lake with an area of 7,850 hectares stretching 106 kilometers in length and 63 kilometers in width. Girded by large area of marshes wet grasslands and the lake,the island makes an uneasy access for human beings and other animals,but offers a secluded wonderful nesting and breeding area for more than 100 species,over one hundred thousand migratory birds,which constitute the densest bird population and the largest bird concentration in this part of the country.

Most common and abundant are the 10 bird species-2,300 couples of bar-headed goose,hundreds couples of great black-headed gull,over 500 couples of great cormorant,common tern,blackj-necked crane,swans,and other species of ducks,along with sparrows and larks. The first 4 species are the most frequently spotted dominants accounting for 70 percent of the island’s bird population.

With such large populations and huge concentrations of birds,Bird Island became a kingdom of birds. The most spectacular sights are in spring migration,during which waves and waves of birds come from the south and pour over the island in late March or early April,and then they cover the island and the lake-shore with their nests. The view is an exceptional experience that leaves the onlookers breathless.

To a visitor coming anywhere near and within the park at peak times,birds seem to be everywhere,both on the ground and in the air. All the cliffs and crags are densely as warm with birds,and all the ground,lake,ponds and streams are bristled with birds,making a stunningly wild and beautiful sight.

The  Prolific  Lake :

The shimmering Qinghai Lake is highly prolific in fish. It seems only with naked carp and delicious food for the majority of birds. It had been so plentiful in the lake,according to the local people,that there was no space for the fish to swim or to stay side by side.

When fishing ,it was unnecessary to use fishhook or fishnet,only wooden sticks were used to beat anyone in front of you. Many of them rose and leaped from the surface of the lake,and some of them jumped out of the lake because they were crowed out. Their number is diminishing,however,because of illegal fishing and over-fishing,and deterioration of their habitat.

The water in the lake is so clear that the abundant and large fish can be seen distinctly several meters down. The lake is so peaceful that it seems almost like another world;and it shows distinct reflections of the island,the blue sky and the birds hovering over it. Under the sunlight,it shines gold and dark green against the clear water and the drifting white clouds in the blue sky.

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Fairy Land Photo Tour in October

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Shangri-la Overland Exploration in East Tibet